Olympics: Sporting Legacy

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to secure a sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympics.

Hugh Robertson: In partnership with the Department for Education, my Department will seek to reverse the decline in competitive sport in schools through the creation of an Olympic-style school sport competition, allowing children in schools across the country to experience the incredible inspiration of the Games.
	In addition, London 2012 will deliver a new generation of sports facilities for the country and increase the exposure and sponsorship opportunities for all Olympic sports.
	Following the comprehensive spending review, we have been able to protect elite athlete funding for London 2012 and the start of the Rio cycle, increase funding to our major sports events budget, preserve the Whole Sports Plans and intend to announce next month how we will deliver a community legacy from London 2012.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he plans to reply to the letter of 6 September 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr B Webb.

Hugh Robertson: I responded to the letter of 6 September 2010 about football governance from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 29 September 2010.
	The response was emailed directly to the parliamentary office of the right hon. Member.

Swimming: Concessions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many people participated in free swimming for those under the age of 16 and over the age of 60 years; what the cost to the public purse was of those schemes; what estimate he made of the number of swimming sessions provided under the scheme; and whether he has made an estimate of the effect on the number of people who regularly swim of the ending of those schemes.

Hugh Robertson: Data on the number of free swims recorded by all 261 local authorities participating in the Free Swimming Programme is available on our website at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/research_and_statistics/6274.aspx
	PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) was commissioned in April 2009 to undertake an independent evaluation of the Free Swimming Programme in England. They assessed:
	The impact of the Programme, specifically the extent to which it had increased the number of swims and the number of swimmers;
	The lessons learned, in particular evidence of what worked, how, in what context and for whom; and
	The benefits and value for money of the Programme, focusing on the health and consequent economic benefits of swimming participation.
	The report can be downloaded on the Department's website at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/7190.aspx
	A total of £25,951,788 from the £40 million resource funding allocated for 2010-11 has been saved by ending the Free Swimming Programme for the under 16s and over 60s.
	An additional £25 million of capital funding allocated for the programme in 2010-11 has also been saved.

British Summer Time

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated in the last 20 years on the potential effects on Scotland of changes in the use of British Summer Time.

Michael Moore: In January 1996 the Scottish Office published the interim report 'The effect of introducing Single/Double Summer Time on road safety in Scotland.' The Scottish Office also collaborated with the Department of Transport in the joint commissioning of research undertaken by the Transport Research Laboratory to inform the report it published in October 1998, 'A new assessment of the likely effects on road accidents of adopting SDST.'

Devolution: Scotland

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent issues relating to the devolution settlement the Advocate General has considered.

Michael Moore: The hon. Member asked a similar question of my right hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland on 21 July 2010,  Official Report, column 340.
	Since 21 July the Advocate-General for Scotland has received a total of 1,149 minutes notifying him of devolution issues of which 1,144 relate to criminal matters and five to civil matters.
	The Advocate-General, along with myself and colleagues, has also been working on preparations for the forthcoming Scotland Bill which will deliver our coalition commitment and strengthen the devolution settlement for Scotland.

Parliamentary Education Service

Jo Swinson: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission if the House of Commons Commission will consider amending the objectives of the Parliamentary Education Service in line with recommendation 4 of the report of the Speaker's Conference on parliamentary representation.

Stuart Bell: Recommendation 4 of the report of the Speaker's Conference on parliamentary representation recommended that the objectives of the Parliamentary Education Service should in future include encouraging a wider range of people to become candidates for election to Parliament.
	The Management Board responded to this recommendation (in HC 449 2009-10) as follows:
	School children visiting Westminster reflect a cross-section of society, and thus represent a powerful opportunity to encourage broader engagement with Parliament. It is not an objective of Parliament's Education Service (or the Parliamentary Outreach service) explicitly to encourage people to stand as candidates, but rather to explain the party system and the representational role in the context of effective engagement with parliamentary processes.
	There are no plans to amend the objectives beyond this, but attention is drawn to the high-quality resources available which contribute directly to raising awareness and understanding of the role of Members. MP for a Week is an award-winning online game which explores the role of Members and features MPs describing their work. Also now available is a new film The General Election Explained which follows the fortunes of prospective candidates in a specific constituency through to the results of the 2010 election. Other activities such as the Youth Parliament are also aimed at improving the understanding and appreciation of the work of Members and thereby encouraging a diverse range of people to consider a future role as a parliamentarian.

Members: Allowances

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, in respect of how many claims submitted by hon. Members and due for settlement in  (a) April and  (b) September 2010 the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has yet to make payment; what the reasons are for the time taken to make payment in such cases; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Walker: The answer requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking in respect of how many claims submitted by hon. Members and due for settlement in (a) April and (b) September 2010 the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has yet to make payment; and what the reasons are for the time taken to make payment in such cases. (17689)
	IPSA's expenses scheme came into force on 7 May 2010. No claims pre-dating 7 May therefore fall within IPSA's remit and no claims made before 7 May are therefore outstanding. It is for the House of Commons to reimburse expenditure prior to 7 May.
	At present, 162 out of 5,256 claim forms submitted to us in September are still awaiting payment. In all cases this is because either the form has been completed incorrectly, or insufficient supporting evidence has been submitted or some other query has been raised with a Member.

Churches: Grants

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners what recent representations the Church Commissioners have made to the Government on heritage grants for churches; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Baldry: By way of a statement it is with great pleasure that I can confirm to the hon. Member that the DCMS has announced as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will survive beyond March 2011, albeit in the reduced form which was announced as an interim measure on the 7 of October. This is very good news for all those volunteers who look after our churches. This was, in part, the result of representations made to DCMS and Treasury by the Bishop of London, the chair of the Church Buildings Council, and the Church of England Parliamentary Unit and others over the last few months.
	From the 4 January 2010, listed places of worship will not be able to recover VAT on professional fees for works and repair works to organs, bells, clocks, and pews, but they will still be able to claim for repairs to their buildings, up to a capped total of just over £12 million in 2011-12, rising to just over £13 million in 2014-15. However, from the 4 January, the scheme will match up to the full VAT paid out on those items which remain eligible including the increase to 20%.
	We also note with great disappointment following the Comprehensive Spending Review, that English Heritage's grant from Government will be cut by 32%, considerably more than the DCMS's overall cut of 25%. We have offered to work closely with English Heritage staff to try and ensure that the invaluable support that our churches have received from English Heritage both in the form of technical expertise and grant-aid will be maintained at its current high standard and level.
	The National Lottery good causes review is welcomed warmly which we hope means that heritage, arts and sport will again each get the share of total proceeds originally set out when the Lottery was created in 1994-20% -amounting to an extra £50 million each every year. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has given great support to places of worship. Between April 1994 and March 2010, the HLF has awarded £390m to over 3,800 projects supporting over 3,200 individual places of worship. Altogether, HLF has awarded £519 million to 4,300 faith-related projects. We look forward to working with the Heritage Lottery Fund to look at ways that some of this extra money can be used to help those who look after our churches to maintain them and to open them up for the use of the wider community.
	The Big Lottery Fund is launching a new Community Buildings Programme in later autumn 2010. This is building on the very successful Communities Buildings Programme run by the Big Lottery in 2008. The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division of has been part of a stakeholders group made up of organisations that have responsibility for community buildings who have been consulted over the last few months on the aims and objectives of the programme as well as the criteria and application process. We have ensured that faith buildings that meet the criteria will be eligible under the Programme.
	The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division is also currently responding to a further DCMS consultation on the change to the direction of the Big Lottery. We welcome the proposal that the Big Lottery Fund should be directed to focus its funding on projects that benefit people and local communities in the voluntary and community sector, exactly the sort of projects that our churches are very experienced at running.

Affordable Housing: North West

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built in  (a) Bury North constituency and  (b) the North West in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008 and (iii) 2009.

Andrew Stunell: The available information which is for Bury local authority and the north-west Government region is provided in the following table.
	The Department's 'Affordable Housing in England' Statistical Release, containing information for 2009-10 will be published on 28 October.
	Not all affordable housing is provided through new-build completions as supply can also come from the acquisition and refurbishment of private sector homes. For example, in the most recent period available for 2008-09, a total of 4,140 affordable homes were provided in the north-west Government region, of which 50 were in Bury.
	
		
			  New-build affordable housing completions 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Bury 20 30 30 
			 North West 2,230 3,220 3,120 
			  Note: Data are rounded to nearest 10 homes.  Source: Housing Communities agency and local authorities

Aldermaston AWE: Fires

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what reports he has received on the support provided to the Ministry of Defence Fire Service by local fire services during the fire at Aldermaston AWE in August 2010.

Bob Neill: Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed that information on the support provided by local authority fire and rescue services at this incident will be transmitted to the Department using the standard Incident Recording System.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many officials in his Department have been  (a) subject to disciplinary action,  (b) removed from post,  (c) transferred to another position and  (d) dismissed for matters relating to their (i) disciplinary record and (ii) performance in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: The following table shows the figures for the number of staff in DCLG who have been subject to disciplinary action for each year since the establishment of DCLG in May 2006.
	
		
			   Number of staff subject to disciplinary action 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 <5 
			 2008-09 5 
			 2009-10 16 
			 2010-11 8 
			  Note: Data from 5 May 2006 to 21 October 2010 (financial years). 
		
	
	DCLG does not hold a central record of the number of staff who have been removed from post.
	DCLG does not hold a central record of the number of staff who have been transferred to another position for any reason.
	The number of staff who have been dismissed for matters relating to their disciplinary record since May 2006 is less than five.
	No DCLG staff has been dismissed for matters relating to their performance.

Floods

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has considered the merits of introducing a statutory requirement for making emergency planning arrangements for flooding.

Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA, in following the recommendation by Sir Michael Pitt in his Review of the 2007 floods, has worked to enhance the national capability for flood emergency response in conjunction with the main first responders to such events, including the Fire and Rescue Services.
	While the Pitt Review is not categorical about the issue of statutory duty, the idea has not been ruled out. On its completion, the Flood Rescue National Enhancement Project will provide us with the means of assessing what shortfalls exist in our national capability, and also what statutory underpinning is needed, if any.

Housing: St Albans

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of homes in St Albans were  (a) owner-occupied,  (b) privately rented and  (c) in the social rented sector in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Stunell: The number of dwellings in St Albans city and district council area in 2009 is shown in the following table, split by tenure. Figures for the privately rented and owner-occupied tenures are not held centrally.
	
		
			  St Albans  Local authority  Registered social landlord( 1)  Other public sector  Private sector  Total 
			 Number of units 5,222 1,979 164 49,283 56,648 
			 Percentage of total 9 3 - 87 100 
			  Sources: Local authority and other public sector reported as at 1 April 2009 by local authorities through the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix; includes non-permanent dwellings. Registered Social Landlord figures as at 31 March 2009 collected in the Regulatory and Statistical Return. Total stock estimates from 2001: census dwelling count as a baseline and subsequent changes to the dwelling stock from the Housing Flows Reconciliation form. Private stock is calculated by the residual. (1)Includes 'general needs' stock, 'supported housing' and 'housing for older people', both self-contained and bedspaces.

Social Rented Housing: North West

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of social homes in  (a) Bury North constituency and  (b) the North West which meet the criteria of the decent homes standard; and whether he plans to increase the number of decent homes in (i) Bury North constituency and (ii) the North West.

Andrew Stunell: The available data applies to the district of Bury. The proportion of social homes in Bury which meet the decent homes standard at April 2010 is 97%; and the proportion of social homes in the North West which meet the decent homes standard is 91%.
	In the spending review, the Government announced that they will spend £2.1 billion tackling non-decent social homes over the next four years. The Homes and Communities Agency will be consulting local authorities on the process for allocating capital funding shortly.

Bus Services: Visual Impairment

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to  (a) increase the level of accessibility of public transport for those with visual impairment and  (b) assist such people with access to information on timetables, changes of routes and discontinued services.

Norman Baker: The Department recognises the importance of helping disabled people, including those with visual impairments, to travel on public transport more confidently and independently. We are taking a number of steps to ensure that levels of accessibility continue to improve on public transport.
	Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR as amended) require buses to have accessibility facilities such as low floor boarding devices, visual contrast on step edges, handholds and handrails among others. Such improvements on buses are continuing, with all vehicles used on local or scheduled services required to be fully PSVAR compliant by 2015, 2016 and 2017, depending on the type of vehicle. All rail vehicles are required to meet modern standards by 2020.
	Currently, 62% of buses and 45% of heavy rail comply with the regulations.
	A large number of stations being funded from the Access for All Programme to make accessibility improvements will continue to have direct benefit to visually impaired passengers.
	Audio-visual passenger information systems can be a key source of information to many disabled passengers. Such systems are already available on trains. On buses, however, the levels of provision vary outside London. The Department is therefore undertaking a project to consider ways of increasing the uptake of audio-visuals systems. The project is due to report shortly.
	We are currently working to improve the accessibility information available to the public; the Transport Direct journey planner enables disabled people and people of reduced mobility to plan their journeys and will do so, for example, during the Olympic games. The Department also continues to work with ATOC to improve the Assisted Passenger Reservation Service for queries from disabled people on facilities and booking journey assistance.
	For those who are not confident using public transport, the Department champions increased levels of travel training by local authorities, and is aiming to produce a website of good practice by the end of 2010.
	In addition, we are working with industry to ensure that the training of transport staff continues to improve, as they are an obvious first point of contact for disabled people. To further this, we are extending the Certificate for Professional Competence (CPC) for driver training to include a disability module.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for how many days on average his Department's staff in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in 2009-10.

Norman Baker: The Central Department and its Agencies recorded the following in respect of staff sickness absence during the 2009-10 financial year:
	
		
			  Staff sickness: 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 
			  Grade  Average working days lost 
			 AA 10.1 
			 AO 8.6 
			 EO 9.7 
			 HEO 6.2 
			 SEO 4.2 
			 G7 3.9 
			 G6 3.9 
			 SCS 5.3 
			 Average working days lost per staff year 8.2 
			 Total staff employed in period 20,663 
		
	
	These figures are calculated according to guidance provided by the Cabinet Office, to whom we report on a quarterly basis and update our results on the Departmental external website:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/staff/sickabsence

Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much revenue the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency has received from the auction of personalised registration plates in the last 12 months.

Michael Penning: The Revenue received from the Sale of Marks scheme for 2009-10, as published in the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts, is £82,031,000.

Railways: Finance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department allocated to each train operating company in each of the last 10 years.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 20 October 2010
	The net total funding allocated to franchised train operating companies in 2009-10 was £27.7 million. This is the last full year for which figures are available. A detailed breakdown by train operating company is in the following table.
	Government subsidy by train operating company is published annually by the Office of Rail Regulation in the National Rail Trends Yearbook. Data for the year 2005-06 to 2008-09 is available at:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1528
	Data for the year 2000-01 to 2004-05 is available at:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1542
	
		
			  2009-10 Net subsidy by train operating company 
			   £ million 
			  Active TOCS  
			 Arriva Trains Cross Country 65.5 
			 Arriva Trains Wales/Trenau Arriva Cymru Ltd(1) -23.5 
			 c2c Rail Ltd -3.3 
			 East Coast -46.1 
			 East Midlands Trains Ltd 10.0 
			 First Capital Connect -89.1 
			 First Greater Western Ltd -2.9 
			 London and South Eastern Railway Ltd (Southeastern) 122.8 
			 London Midland 102.4 
			 National Express East Anglia -97.4 
			 Northern Rail Ltd 106.4 
			 Southern (New Central) 48.0 
			 Stagecoach South Western Trains Ltd -137.7 
			 The Chiltern Railway Company Ltd 8.8 
			 Trans Pennine Express 78.4 
			 Virgin West Coast 50.0 
			   
			  Inactive TOCs at 31 March 2010  
			 Central Trains -2.2 
			 Centro 0.4 
			 CrossCountry Trains Ltd(2) - 
			 First ScotRail Ltd(1) - 
			 FNW 0.1 
			 Gatwick Express Ltd(3) - 
			 GNER -6.6 
			 National Express East Coast -144.5 
			 New Southern Railway Ltd - 
			 Silverlink -0.7 
			 Southern -11.5 
			 Virgin Cross Country 0.4 
			 West Coast Trains Ltd - 
			 All operators 27.7 
			 +ve = net payments -ve = net receipts (1) 2007-08 subsidy data for Arriva Trains Wales and First Scotrail has been updated to 127.4 and 252.5 respectively following updated figures from the Welsh Assembly and Transport Scotland. (2) Includes Virgin and Arriva. (3) 2008-09 data for Gatwick Express has been omitted as New Southern Railway Ltd began operating the service in June 2008.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanisms are in place to ensure effective co-ordination between the Highways Agency and local authorities on their respective programmes of road repairs and maintenance.

Michael Penning: The New Roads and Street Works Act (NRSWA) 1991 and the Traffic Management Act (TMA) 2004 together oblige local highway authorities (LHA) to ensure repair and maintenance works are coordinated and planned to ensure the expeditious movement of traffic. The Highways Agency has been given an equivalent remit by the Secretary of State to manage better its existing network and to reduce the impact of congestion and congestion related delays.
	Quarterly co-ordination meetings are held between representatives from LHA, the Agency and Statutory Undertakers (major utility companies) to discuss future programmes of work. This enables conflicts to be highlighted and whenever possible the duration, sequencing or timing to be adjusted to minimise the impact.

Asbestos

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to transpose into UK law the classification of Chrysotile under EU Directive 97/69/EC as not requiring treatment as a carcinogen.

Chris Grayling: The relevant provisions originally in Directive 97/69/EC (and subsequently transferred to the direct-acting EU Regulation on Classification Labelling and Packaging EC 1272/2008 (CLP)) applied to man-made mineral fibres such as mineral wools and not to chrysotile asbestos. The classification of asbestos, including chrysotile asbestos is included in CLP. Such EU regulations apply directly in all member states and do not require transposition into domestic law. Directive 97/69/EC no longer has legal effect.
	There is, at present, international scientific consensus on the classification of asbestos as carcinogenic, which informs government policy. We will keep this under review and until the consensus changes, the Secretary of State has no plans to amend the regulations.

Departmental Asbestos

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to amend existing regulations governing the safe use of asbestos cement in line with the evidence cited in Health and Safety Commission Paper HSC/06/55.

Chris Grayling: The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 implement the European Codified Directive 2009/148/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work. Asbestos cement products are subject to that directive. All asbestos types found in asbestos cement are classified by the European Chemicals Agency as category 1 human carcinogens. There is, at present, international scientific consensus on the classification of asbestos which informs government policy. We will keep this under review and until the consensus changes, the Secretary of State has no plans to amend the regulations.
	The current regulatory approach is consistent with the evidence set out in the Health and Safety Commission paper.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in his Department have been  (a) subject to disciplinary action,  (b) removed from post,  (c) transferred to another position and  (d) dismissed for matters relating to their (i) disciplinary record and (ii) performance in each year since 1997.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions records action that has been taken because of misconduct or unsatisfactory performance. The figures show the number of staff disciplined, downgraded, and dismissed.
	Transferring staff compulsory from their post is a sanction that is only available in misconduct cases.
	The information is provided in the following tables:
	
		
			  Discipline action-misconduct 
			   Number of employees: 
			   Disciplined  Downgraded  Compulsory transferred as a sanction  Dismissed 
			 1 April 2010 to 30 June 2010 541 1 2 91 
			 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 1,484 6 4 355 
			 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 1,093 2 4 219 
			 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 867 0 3 161 
			 Total 3,985 9 13 826 
		
	
	
		
			  Discipline action-unsatisfactory performance 
			   Number of employees: 
			   Disciplined  Downgraded  Dismissed 
			 1 April 2010 to 30 June 2010 50 0 15 
			 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 137 5 27 
			 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 75 1 15 
			 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 101 1 15 
			 Total 363 7 72

Older Workers

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on employers' attitudes to employing older workers.

Chris Grayling: There are five separate research reports commissioned and published by DWP in the last five years, as part of their Research Report Series, which evaluate employer's attitudes towards employing older workers. These can be found on the DWP website:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp
	"Survey of employers' policies, practices and preferences relating to age", 2006 (DWP Research Report Series 325) H Metcalf with P Meadows.
	"Employer responses to an ageing workforce: a qualitative study", 2006 (DWP Research Report Series 255) S McNair, M Flynn and N Dutton.
	"Review of the Default Retirement Age: Summary of the stakeholder evidence", 2010 (DWP Research report Series 675) W Sykes, N Coleman and C Groom
	"Second survey of employers' policies, practices and preferences relating to age", 2010 (DWP Research Report Series 682) H Metcalf and P Meadows.
	"Default Retirement Age: Employer qualitative research", 2010 (DWP Research Report Series 672) A Thomas and J Pascall-Calitz.

Retirement: Age

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the  (a) number of people in the workforce and  (b) level of expenditure on unemployment and welfare benefits of the implementation of the proposed increase in the state pension age;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on people in each social and income group of the implementation of the proposed increase in the state pension age.

Steve Webb: The Government's full response to the review of state pension age, which will include an impact assessment and an equality impact assessment, will be published shortly. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House.

Retirement: Age

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the merits of taking steps to  (a) help people to stay in work longer and  (b) assist those aged between 50 and 59 years to adjust to the implementation of the proposed increase in the state pension age.

Steve Webb: People are living longer and healthier lives. Helping them to stay in work longer offers benefits to the economy, businesses and individuals themselves. Extending working life by one effective year could increase GDP by up to1% (worth £13 billion). A single man who works a year beyond the current state pension age could increase his income in retirement by between 3 and 10%. Our Age Positive initiative is therefore working with business lead organisations to provide employers with guidance on the benefits of employing older workers and offering flexible approaches to work and phased retirement. Many people over 65 still want to work and can provide a valuable contribution by doing so.
	Additionally, we have consulted jointly with BIS on the phasing out of the Default Retirement Age (DRA), which prevents some people from working for longer. The DRA consultation ended 21 October, with results due to be published late autumn. The Government's full response to the review of state pension age will be published shortly.

Social Security Benefits

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to reduce the incidence of welfare dependency.

Chris Grayling: The Government are committed to fighting poverty; supporting the most vulnerable; and helping people break the cycle of benefit dependency that has blighted some communities.
	We are developing a new back to work model that gives Jobcentre Plus managers and advisers the maximum flexibility to work with customers to give them the best available support. We are also simplifying the whole system by replacing an array of existing employment schemes, pilots and projects with one new Work Programme that is more capable of dealing with complex and overlapping barriers to work.
	The Work Programme will be an integrated package of support providing personalised help. It will support a wide range of customers-from Jobseekers Allowance recipients who have been out of work for some time, to customers who may previously have been receiving incapacity benefits for many years. The Government aim to introduce the Work Programme by summer 2011.
	In addition we have announced plans for a universal credit which will merge out-of-work benefits with in-work tax credits and housing benefit into a single system. The universal credit will improve incentives to work, especially for low earners, by a combination of earnings disregards and a single withdrawal rate when earnings exceed the disregard. This will make it easy for people to see that it is always worth going to work. We expect significant numbers of people to move into work as a result. Further details will be set out in a White Paper to be published in the next few weeks.

Welfare State: Reform

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects of the proposed reforms to the benefits system on the disadvantaged and vulnerable in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: These are matters which are largely devolved to Northern Ireland Ministers. Section 87 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 provides for the securing of a single system of social security for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Executive Ministers discuss these matters with ministerial colleagues and I as part of the regular exchanges that Whitehall Ministers have with their Northern Ireland counterparts. The proposed reforms will be an important part of these discussions.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many missions the MQ-9 Reaper has flown in Afghanistan since May 2008; and how many of those missions involved the release of each type of weapon.

Liam Fox: The primary role of the UK Reaper Remotely Piloted Air System is Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. Since October 2007, it has flown 1,344 sorties and since May 2008 employed 36 laser guided bombs and 84 Hellfire missiles in support of UK and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Atomic Weapons Establishment: Aldermaston

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to review and update the ten-year site-wide 2000 Decommissioning Plan for the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston.

Peter Luff: The 10-year 2000 Decommissioning Plan was reviewed and refreshed by two Quinquennial Reviews of the Atomic Weapons Establishment's nuclear liabilities at both the Aldermaston and Burghfield sites. The next Quinquennial review is currently planned to be undertaken in 2012. I understand that the review of the 2007 Quinquennial Review will be plublished on the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate website soon once it is completed.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the merits of NATO's proposal for an anti-ballistic missile shield.

Gerald Howarth: The Government assess NATO Ballistic Missile Defence to be an important capability which could contribute to the defence of the UK and our NATO allies against potential future ballistic missile threats. As stated in the strategic defence and security review, published 19 October 2010, we intend to support proposals to expand NATO's ballistic missile defence role.

European Fighter Aircraft

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's 2004 report on marinisation of Typhoon aircraft.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence has no record of a 2004 report on marinisation of Typhoon aircraft. We have commissioned industrial and technical advice during the review of the Future Carrier Borne Aircraft requirement, which also considered the adaptation of existing aircraft, including Typhoon. The Joint Strike Fighter was selected to fulfil this role. We have periodically reviewed with industry our present and future Typhoon capability requirements from a technological, industrial and commercial perspective and will continue to do so throughout the life of the aircraft.

Members: Correspondence

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Veterans' Minister plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for Ochil and South Perthshire of 3 July and 23 September 2010, on a constituency case.

Andrew Robathan: The Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans is currently overseas on business and I am responding on his behalf. He replied to the letter of 3 July 2010 advising that he needs to familiarise himself with the matter and had asked officials for the full background. He said he hoped to be able to offer you a considered response by the end of August. We apologise for not yet being in a position to respond on this complex case, but the hon. Member will receive a reply shortly.

Nuclear Fuels: Storage

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what date rim-sealed containers for storage of special nuclear materials at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston will be replaced by new, long-term storage containers.

Peter Luff: There are no current plans to replace "rim-sealed" (containers used for storage of special nuclear materials at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency employed on the latest date for which figures are available; and what the monetary value of the salaries of  (a) all staff and  (b) its senior management was in the latest year for which figures are available.

Liam Fox: holding answer 21 October 2010
	 The Service Personnel Veterans Agency employed 1,003 full-time equivalent staff during the year 2009-10. Salaries and wages of all staff for the same period was £27.112 million. Senior management salaries are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  Salary including performance pay 2009-10 
			   £000 
			 Chief Executive 105-110 
			 Deputy Chief Executive/Head Strategy and Programmes 95-100 
			 Head Veterans Services 65-70 
			 Head Change 95-100 
			 Head Military Services 60-65 
			 Head Transition Services 30-35 
			 Head Corporate Services 80-85 
			 Head Military Services(1) 30-35 
			 Non Executive Director 10-15 
			 Non Executive Director 10-15 
			 (1)There are two Head of Military Services noted, as one completed only a partial year. 
		
	
	This information has been taken from the SPVA annual report and accounts 2009-10, which once published will be available in the Library of the House.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what consultation other than meetings has been held with representatives of the  (a) aerospace industry,  (b) maritime industry and  (c) other defence industries as part of his Department's Strategic Defence and Security Review;
	(2)  what meetings he has  (a) had and  (b) planned with representatives of the (i) aerospace, (ii) maritime, (iii) cyber technology and (iv) other defence sectors as part of his Department's Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Liam Fox: Ministers and officials had many discussions with industry representatives while the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) was in progress, including a full meeting of the National Defence Industries Council which I chaired, and various sub-group meetings, as well as meeting with individual companies.
	The Ministry of Defence Ministers will continue to meet with industry representatives in the coming months, to discuss the follow up to the SDSR.

Animals: Diseases

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what notifiable animal disease outbreaks have occurred in each of the last five years; and what estimate she has made of the cost to the economy of each such outbreak.

James Paice: A list of notifiable animal disease outbreaks since 2004 is available on the DEFRA website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/ndi/index.htm
	Information on the cost of all notifiable disease outbreaks is not available for each of the last five years.
	DEFRA's current estimate of the economic cost to the UK livestock sector as a result of the 2007 Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak is over £100 million. The estimated total cost to the Government of the outbreaks in 2007 is £47 million for FMD, £1.7 million on bluetongue and £5 million on Avian Influenza (two outbreaks). During 2010 there have been three outbreaks of equine infectious anaemia, costs of these outbreaks has been £0.2 million.
	The other values could be provided only at disproportionate cost to the Department.

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid to officials in her Department and its non-departmental public bodies in bonuses and other payments in addition to salary in each year since 1997; how many officials received such payments; and what the monetary value was of the largest 20 payments made in each such year.

Richard Benyon: Information on other payments paid in addition to salary are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost for the Department and its non-departmental public bodies.
	Core DEFRA (and those organisations covered by DEFRA terms and conditions - Animal Health and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate)
	The requested information on non-consolidated variable performance pay for the financial years from 2005-6 to 2009-10 has been placed in the House Library, where available. Information on these payments prior to this date is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding she plans to allocate to the Environment Agency for each of the next four financial years; and what funding she allocated to that agency for 2010-11.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 25 October 2010
	Following the Spending Review, DEFRA is considering budget allocations for the next four financial years across the DEFRA Network, including the Environment Agency. More information on allocations should be available in January 2011.
	The Environment Agency's grant in aid budget from DEFRA for 2010-11 is currently £644.5 million for flood and coastal erosion risk management and £146.3 million for Environmental Protection.

Departmental Sick Leave

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days her Department has lost to staff sickness in each year since 1997; and what estimate she made of the cost to her Department of sickness absence in each such year.

Richard Benyon: The following table shows the total working days lost through sickness in DEFRA and its agencies in each year since 2002. The end dates of the 12 month periods vary between years due to the way that data was collected at the time. No estimate has been made of the cost to the Department of sickness absence in each such year. However, the pay equivalent of days lost through sickness absence in 2009 was £9.6 million.
	
		
			  12 months ending  Total working days lost 
			 31 December 2002 120,800 
			 31 December 2003 121,200 
			 31 December 2004 107,000 
			 31 December 2005 (1)102,000 
			 31 March 2007 92,600 
			 31 March 2008 89,100 
			 31 March 2009 80,100 
			 31 March 2010 78,403 
			 (1 )Excludes Central Science Laboratory for which data is not  available.

Equine Infectious Anaemia: Disease Control

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will discuss with the EU Commission the merits of an enhanced disease testing regime for inter-community horse movements following the recent outbreak of equine infectious anaemia.

James Paice: Existing EU rules on intra-Community trade in all livestock, including horses, places responsibility on the consigning member state to control disease on its territory and to certify that any consignments for movement to another member state are safe. The rules do not permit extensive or blanket checks carried out by the importing member state. Such measures would be a burdensome restriction on trade, disproportionate to the risk and would fall foul of EU trade rules. The UK is a major beneficiary of the open market and these trade rules facilitate our thriving trade in the movement of livestock and their products. As a further assurance to the importing member states, the rules do allow them to carry out checks for compliance with certification on a proportion of consignments. As such, we currently have in place enhanced post import checks for certain consignments of horses.
	Additionally, DEFRA is in regular contact with other member states and the Commission and discussions are taking place on the movements of horses and the risk of transmitting exotic disease. Any further protective measures introduced would be expected to be proportionate to the risk and to continue within the boundaries of EU rules.

Slaughterhouses: Devon

Mel Stride: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abattoirs there were in Central Devon constituency in  (a) 2000,  (b) 2005,  (c) 2007 and  (d) on the latest date for which figures are available.

James Paice: The number of approved slaughterhouses operating in the Central Devon constituency were:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2000 7 
			 2005 8 
			 2007 7 
			 2010 6 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are for a financial (April-March) year. 2. The figure for 2010 is correct at 21 October 2010.

Task Force on Farming Regulation

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which  (a) regulations,  (b) directions and  (c) circulars affecting farming and food are being examined by the Task Force on Farming Regulation; and how much her Department spent on compliance and monitoring work in respect of each such measure in the latest year for which figures are available.

James Paice: holding answer 25 October 2010
	The Task Force on Farm Regulation has been asked to identify ways to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers and food processors. Their remit covers all regulations that apply to farming, including horticulture; food issues where they apply on farm; food processing where farmer and producer interests overlap; and processing of farmed produce. It will focus on those areas of most concern to business and has asked for ideas and suggestions identifying unnecessary regulations, gold-plating and measures that are over-complex in implementation or enforcement to be submitted by 31 October.

Water: Shortages

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulatory obligations to nearby residents there are upon water companies during major renewal or construction works.

Richard Benyon: Paragraph 1 of schedule 12 of the Water Industry Act 1991 provides that water companies should do as little damage as possible while undertaking streetworks, and should pay compensation for any loss or damage caused as a result of the company exercising its street works powers. Schedule 12 goes on to say that any dispute as to whether compensation should be paid, or as to the amount of compensation, should be referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the parties to the dispute. Ofwat can appoint an arbitrator if the parties cannot agree on one. Ofwat does not have a formal role in deciding whether or how much compensation should be paid under schedule 12.
	Section 60 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 empowers local authorities to serve notices upon works of construction and demolition (the erection, construction, alteration, repair or maintenance of buildings, structures or roads and demolition or dredging work). Notices can specify what plant or machinery may or may not be used, the hours during which works may be carried out, and the levels of noise that are acceptable from the works.
	Section 61 enables a person intending to carry out works to apply for consent from the local authority. An application should contain the particulars of the works and the method by which they are to be carried out, and the steps proposed to be taken to minimise noise resulting from the works.
	If a person on whom a section 60 notice has been served contravenes any requirement of the notice without reasonable excuse, there is a penalty upon summary conviction of a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, together with a fine not exceeding £50 for each day on which the offence continues.

Chelmsford Prison

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for how long the tumble drier for use by prisoners at Chelmsford Prison has not been working; and when he expects it to be repaired or replaced.

Crispin Blunt: HMP Chelmsford has a tumble drier on E wing which has not been working for about two months. It requires a replacement seal and arrangements are being made for its repair. In the meantime prisoners can use an alternative tumble drier available on the wing or have their clothing laundered in the prisons main industrial laundry facility.

Family Courts

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to review his Department's policy on the  (a) granting of parental access to children and  (b) interviewing of young children in the family court process.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Secretary of State for Education and the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Health and Social Services and the Secretary of State for Justice have commissioned a review of the family justice system in England and Wales to examine the effectiveness of the family justice system, the outcomes it delivers and to make recommendations for reform.
	The review is examining how to promote contact rights for non-resident parents and grandparents where this is in the best the interests of the child. The review will also examine how best to ensure the voice of the child is heard.
	We will consider the recommendations of the review when it is published in autumn 2011.

Magistrates' Courts: Closures

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the likely effect on levels of engagement between magistrates and local communities of implementation of his proposals to close magistrates' courts.

Jonathan Djanogly: Engagement between magistrates and local communities is not dependent on the number or location of court buildings. HMCS and the magistracy have been at the forefront of visible and continual engagement with communities, working with other justice agencies to understand and discuss the justice issues that affect those communities and what can be done to resolve them, as well as improving public understanding of the work of the courts and the wider justice system.
	The aim of the community engagement work of the magistrates courts is to improve public confidence in the justice system by strengthening links between courts, the communities they serve and the wider justice system, while preserving judicial independence.

Magistrates' Courts: Closures

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will estimate the change in the number of serving magistrates arising from implementation of his proposals to close magistrates' courts.

Jonathan Djanogly: The number of serving magistrates should not be directly affected by court closures as workload is not being reduced but transferred to nearby courts, where magistrates will continue to hear cases from their local justice area or, as a result of any local justice area proposals, across a new, merged local justice area. However, I recognise the need for numbers of magistrates to be commensurate with workload and we expect advisory committees to take this balance into account as they think about possible future appointments.

Magistrates: Utilisation Rates

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of the utilisation rates of each magistrates' court in England in the latest period for which information is available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information requested on utilisation rates of each magistrates court in England and Wales for the period April to June 2010 is within the following table:
	
		
			  Utilisation rates of each magistrates court in England and Wales for periods April  to  June 2010 
			  Courthouse  Courtroom utilisation  (percentage) 
			 Aberdare 44.3 
			 Abertillery 47.4 
			 Aberystwyth 55.5 
			 Aldershot 69.5 
			 Alnwick 56.6 
			 Alton 63.8 
			 Ammanford 61.6 
			 Andover 21.4 
			 Ashford 62.5 
			 Aylesbury 88.4 
			 Banbury 77.2 
			 Barking (East Street) 69.1 
			 Barnsley 61.7 
			 Barnstaple 72.4 
			 Barrow in Furness 64.9 
			 Barry 54.1 
			 Basildon 67.6 
			 Basingstoke 82.8 
			 Bath 70.6 
			 Bedford 67.0 
			 Berwick upon Tweed 57.7 
			 Beverley 44.8 
			 Bexley 78.2 
			 Bicester 59.9 
			 Bingley 66.3 
			 Birkenhead 60.6 
			 Birmingham (Corporation St) 62.4 
			 Bishop Auckland 33.2 
			 Blackburn 71.8 
			 Blackpool 88.6 
			 Blackwood Family Court 17.5 
			 Blaydon 39.8 
			 Bodmin 73.8 
			 Bolton 62.8 
			 Bootle 81.7 
			 Boston 42.9 
			 Bournemouth 72.5 
			 Bracknell 59.0 
			 Bradford 52.7 
			 Brecon 29.7 
			 Brent 51.8 
			 Brentford 19.9 
			 Bridgend 55.8 
			 Bridgwater 51.2 
			 Bridlington 43.5 
			 Brighton 75.7 
			 Bristol 86.0 
			 Bromley (London Road) 71.7 
			 Burnley 77.8 
			 Burton upon Trent 50.5 
			 Bury 61.4 
			 Bury St Edmunds 62.8 
			 Buxton 59.0 
			 Caernarfon 73.0 
			 Caerphilly 82.6 
			 Calderdale 57.8 
			 Camberwell Green 93.3 
			 Camborne (Bassett Rd) 26.7 
			 Cambridge 39.3 
			 Cannock 69.0 
			 Canterbury 62.6 
			 Cardiff 49.4 
			 Cardigan 24.5 
			 Carlisle 61.2 
			 Carmarthen 30.0 
			 Chelmsford 59.7 
			 Cheltenham (St George's Road) 49.5 
			 Chester 56.9 
			 Chesterfield (Tapton Lane) 65.9 
			 Chichester 62.0 
			 Chippenham 52.7 
			 Chorley 78.2 
			 City of London 90.3 
			 City of Westminster 117.2 
			 Coalville 28.9 
			 Colchester (Town Hall) 58.7 
			 Consett 70.8 
			 Corby 51.4 
			 Coventry 69.1 
			 Crawley 90.9 
			 Crewe 58.6 
			 Cromer 22.0 
			 Croydon 63.8 
			 Cwmbran 70.9 
			 Darlington 54.3 
			 Dartford 80.0 
			 Daventry 45.6 
			 Denbigh 14.0 
			 Derby (St Mary's Gate) 67.7 
			 Dewsbury 53.6 
			 Didcot 50.5 
			 Dolgellau 39.0 
			 Doncaster 64.0 
			 Dover 49.0 
			 Dudley 65.8 
			 Durham 53.5 
			 Ealing 78.8 
			 Eastbourne 65.3 
			 Ely 21.6 
			 Enfield 75.2 
			 Epping 30.1 
			 Exeter 70.8 
			 Fareham 77.2 
			 Feltham 79.5 
			 Fenland 32.6 
			 Fleetwood 64.1 
			 Flint 27.4 
			 Folkestone 77.1 
			 Gateshead 82.2 
			 Gloucester (Barbican Way) 35.2 
			 Goole 33.0 
			 Gosforth 33.1 
			 Grantham 33.0 
			 Grays 66.0 
			 Great Yarmouth 40.5 
			 Greenwich 88.5 
			 Grimsby 71.0 
			 Guildford 58.4 
			 Halesowen 8.7 
			 Harlow 77.1 
			 Harrogate 49.1 
			 Harrow 95.0 
			 Hartlepool 71.0 
			 Harwich 36.5 
			 Hastings 80.1 
			 Haverfordwest 53.4 
			 Havering 76.7 
			 Haywards Heath 52.4 
			 Hemel Hempstead 53.6 
			 Hendon 81.9 
			 Hereford 67.4 
			 Hertford 62.8 
			 Highbury Corner 86.3 
			 Highgate 57.3 
			 Hinckley 48.4 
			 Holyhead 34.4 
			 Honiton 15.2 
			 Horsham 33.6 
			 Huddersfield 46.4 
			 Hull and Holderness 61.8 
			 Huntingdon 42.9 
			 Hyndburn 71.9 
			 ILCFPC 95.1 
			 Ilkeston 8.6 
			 Ipswich 57.0 
			 Kendal 31.6 
			 Kettering 72.5 
			 Kidderminster 55.4 
			 King's Lynn 69.6 
			 Kingston upon Thames 60.8 
			 Knowsley 55.6 
			 Lancaster 55.0 
			 Langbaurgh East 52.0 
			 Leeds 64.6 
			 Leicester 79.4 
			 Lewes 38.6 
			 Leyland 64.1 
			 Lincoln 53.7 
			 Liskeard 16.6 
			 Liverpool (Dale St) 48.1 
			 Llandrindod Wells (Brecon) 63.2 
			 Llandrindod Wells (Welshpool) 10.2 
			 Llandudno 71.8 
			 Llanelli 54.7 
			 Llangefni 12.9 
			 Loughborough 55.6 
			 Lowestoft 44.4 
			 Ludlow 59.5 
			 Luton 68.7 
			 Lyndhurst 56.6 
			 Macclesfield (Hibel Rd) 72.4 
			 Maidenhead 60.2 
			 Maidstone 86.7 
			 Manchester City 74.1 
			 Mansfield (Rosemary St) 52.3 
			 Market Drayton 19.0 
			 Market Harborough 29.0 
			 Medway (Chatham) 64.6 
			 Melton Mowbray 32.9 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 49.5 
			 Milton Keynes 65.1 
			 Mold 67.7 
			 Neath and Port Talbot 43.5 
			 Newark 59.8 
			 Newbury 66.9 
			 Newcastle under Lyme 73.6 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 84.4 
			 Newport 63.4 
			 Newport (Civic Centre) 87.4 
			 Newport (Clarence House) 57.8 
			 Newton Abbot 51.7 
			 Newton Aycliffe 73.4 
			 North Liverpool Community Justice Centre 74.5 
			 North London Family Proceedings Court 79.8 
			 North Tyneside 71.9 
			 Northallerton 80.3 
			 Northampton 81.7 
			 Northwich 75.3 
			 Norwich 65.1 
			 Nottingham (Carrington St) 57.7 
			 Nuneaton 84.9 
			 Oldham 62.7 
			 Ormskirk 52.1 
			 Oswestry 28.0 
			 Oxford 68.9 
			 Penrith 37.5 
			 Penzance 9.6 
			 Peterborough 44.0 
			 Peterlee 76.9 
			 Plymouth 60.2 
			 Pontefract 71.4 
			 Pontypridd 47.0 
			 Poole 55.3 
			 Portsmouth 75.0 
			 Prestatyn 58.7 
			 Preston 86.9 
			 Pwllheli 25.7 
			 Reading 91.1 
			 Redbridge 84.0 
			 Redditch 62.1 
			 Redhill 74.0 
			 Reedley 41.9 
			 Retford 26.0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 82.1 
			 Rochdale 70.5 
			 Rossendale 22.2 
			 Rotherham 58.6 
			 Rugby 58.4 
			 Runcorn 54.8 
			 Salford 44.3 
			 Salisbury (Guildhall) 60.8 
			 Scarborough 62.1 
			 Scunthorpe 81.7 
			 Selby 53.4 
			 Sevenoaks 78.9 
			 Sheffield 65.0 
			 Shrewsbury 60.7 
			 Sittingbourne 61.3 
			 Skegness 42.4 
			 Skipton 48.4 
			 Slough 101.2 
			 Solihull 67.4 
			 South East Northumberland 70.3 
			 South Tyneside Law Courts 66.4 
			 South Western 84.3 
			 Southampton (The Avenue) 60.0 
			 Southend on Sea 49.3 
			 Southport 61.8 
			 Spalding 41.9 
			 St Albans 75.2 
			 St Helens 58.7 
			 Stafford 46.3 
			 Staines 72.8 
			 Stevenage 66.9 
			 Stockport 45.2 
			 Stoke on Trent 80.2 
			 Stratford 69.7 
			 Stratford upon Avon 83.9 
			 Stroud 42.7 
			 Sudbury 22.9 
			 Sunderland and Houghton-le-Spring 64.6 
			 Sutton 40.5 
			 Sutton Coldfield 65.1 
			 Swaffham 22.7 
			 Swansea 71.3 
			 Swindon 64.4 
			 Tameside 74.6 
			 Tamworth 66.5 
			 Taunton 56.8 
			 Teesside 77.6 
			 Telford 62.6 
			 Thames 90.7 
			 Thanet (Margate) 91.3 
			 Thetford 31.1 
			 Torquay 87.4 
			 Torquay County Court 14.9 
			 Towcester 36.9 
			 Trafford 85.5 
			 Truro 60.9 
			 Tynedale 84.1 
			 Uxbridge 83.3 
			 Wakefield 61.6 
			 Walsall 82.0 
			 Waltham Forest 71.4 
			 Warley 74.2 
			 Warrington (Arpley Street) 79.2 
			 Watford 63.6 
			 Wellingborough 64.6 
			 Welshpool 43.5 
			 West Bromwich 43.9 
			 West London 95.7 
			 Weston Super Mare 64.1 
			 Weymouth 19.9 
			 Whitehaven 48.0 
			 Wigan 72.8 
			 Wimbledon 85.3 
			 Wimborne 5.0 
			 Witham 46.0 
			 Witney 30.6 
			 Woking 65.7 
			 Wolverhampton 54.4 
			 Worcester 79.1 
			 Workington 72.9 
			 Worksop 47.6 
			 Worthing 64.6 
			 Wrexham 69.6 
			 Wycombe 80.9 
			 Yate 59.2 
			 Yeovil 28.8 
			 York 67.3 
			 England and Wales 62.7 
			  Notes: 1. These data were subject to the minimum data quality checks. 2. Courtroom utilisation is the total number of hours used for judicial business in all courtrooms, divided by the total number of court hours available to be used.  Source: HMCS Performance Database (OPT)

Prison Accommodation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance his Department issues to prisons on the provision of  (a) curtains and  (b) duvets in cells.

Crispin Blunt: Prisoners may earn privileges under the local Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme, details of which are set out in Prison Service Order (PSO) 4000 which is available in the Library of the House. Curtains and duvets are not included in the key earnable privileges listed in the PSO, but Governors have discretion to offer additional earnable privileges which reflect the regime of the prison. Some prisons may allow prisoners to have curtains and/or duvets as an earnable privilege.
	Prisons requesting curtains and duvets are given guidance on the requirements for fire safety and the management of the ligature risk.
	PSO 1250 on Prisoners Property, also in the Library, sets out guidance on the items of their own personal property prisoners are allowed to have in possession. There is no specific guidance issued to prisons on allowing curtains and duvets in cell.

Prisons: Drugs

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on drug addiction services in prisons.

Crispin Blunt: I have had discussions with Ministers in a number of Departments including the Department of Health, Home Office and the Cabinet Office. These have covered a range of drugs related topics, including reforming drug addiction services in prisons.

Prisons: Wales

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) community sentences,  (b) fines,  (c) custodial sentences and  (d) cautions were imposed for convictions involving drug dealing for each illegal drug in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: The number of persons sentenced to community sentences, fines, immediate custody, other disposals and the total persons sentenced for drug dealing offences, as recorded on the courts proceedings database, in the last three years for which data are available is given in Table 1 as follows.
	Table 2 refers to the number of offenders cautioned for drug dealing offences, in the last three years.
	Drug dealing offences include: Supply or offering to supply a controlled drug or possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
	
		
			  Table 1: Persons sentenced for drug dealing offences( 1)  England and Wales 2007 to 2009( 2, 3) 
			Results 
			  Drug offences  Year  Absolute discharge  Conditional discharge  Fine  Community sentence  Suspended sentence  Immediate custody  Otherwise dealt with  Total sentenced 
			  Class A  
			 Cocaine 2007 4 9 25 189 260 1,190 14 1,691 
			  2008 1 13 20 207 313 1,658 32 2,244 
			  2009 0 6 11 201 357 1,833 10 2,418 
			   
			 Heroin 2007 0 10 10 288 260 1,706 23 2,297 
			  2008 2 12 6 334 266 1,861 58 2,538 
			  2009 1 8 1 305 273 1,804 15 2,407 
			   
			 LSD 2007 0 1 2 4 2 7 0 16 
			  2008 0 0 3 1 3 8 0 15 
			  2009 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 6 
			   
			 MDMA 2007 1 11 9 121 169 349 7 667 
			  2008 2 2 3 78 116 272 4 477 
			  2009 0 5 1 46 73 169 1 295 
			   
			 Crack 2007 0 3 4 74 55 482 7 625 
			  2008 0 3 0 136 76 583 17 815 
			  2009 0 1 1 78 63 484 8 635 
			   
			 Methadone 2007 0 1 1 7 4 7 0 20 
			  2008 0 0 1 7 6 12 0 26 
			  2009 0 1 2 6 4 17 0 30 
			   
			 Methylamphetamine (Crystal Meth) 2007 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 
			  2008 0 0 0 2 4 1 0 7 
			  2009 0 0 0 3 2 6 0 11 
			   
			 Other Class A 2007 0 5 1 103 100 535 4 748 
			  2008 2 4 1 113 120 563 23 826 
			  2009 0 2 5 88 106 497 5 703 
			   
			  Class B  
			 Amphetamine 2007 1 9 10 66 123 148 1 358 
			  2008 1 6 8 80 109 194 3 399 
			  2009 0 1 9 71 120 188 4 393 
			   
			 Other Class B 2007 0 0 2 5 4 17 1 29 
			  2008 0 0 1 12 10 16 3 42 
			  2009 1 4 20 101 47 74 2 249 
			   
			  Class C  
			 Anabolic Steroids 2007 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 5 
			  2008 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 6 
			  2009 0 0 0 3 3 4 0 10 
			   
			 Ketamine 2007 0 0 3 4 0 0 0 7 
			  2008 0 0 1 11 1 3 1 17 
			  2009 0 1 4 27 11 4 0 47 
			   
			 GHB 2007 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			  2008 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			  2009 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			   
			 Other Class C 2007 0 27 31 223 332 352 13 978 
			  2008 0 21 19 266 437 421 10 1,174 
			  2009 0 13 27 204 324 331 4 903 
			   
			 Cannabis(4) 2007 3 30 61 460 340 333 37 1,264 
			  2008 1 35 69 585 401 367 18 1,476 
			  2009 1 25 94 664 499 529 23 1,835 
			   
			 Unspecified 2007 1 2 5 18 20 253 2 301 
			  2008 0 1 3 14 20 268 2 308 
			  2009 0 0 0 6 28 210 0 244 
			 (1) Includes offences covering "Possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply" and "Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug". (1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) In 2004 cannabis was reclassified from a Class 8 to a Class C drug. In 2009 cannabis was reclassified to a Class B drug. Cannabis data are shown separately in this table and are not also included in the relevant years Class 6 or Class C data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offenders cautioned( 1,2)  for drug dealing( 3)  offences, England and Wales, 2007 to 2009( 4) 
			   Year 
			  Drug type  2007  2008  2009 
			  Class A
			 Cocaine 146 104 62 
			 Heroin 45 35 29 
			 LSD 6 4 4 
			 MDMA 88 46 31 
			 Crack 23 7 9 
			 Methadone 10 2 10 
			 Methylamphetamine (Crystal Meth) 1 3 - 
			 Other Class A 54 37 41 
			 Total - Class A 373 238 186 
			 
			  Class B
			 Amphetamine 50 29 20 
			 Other Class B 8 6 40 
			 Total - Class B 58 35 60 
			 
			  Class C
			 Anabolic steroids 1 3 7 
			 Ketamine 15 6 10 
			 Other 78 74 38 
			 Total - Class C 94 83 55 
			 
			 Class Unspecified 29 8 8 
			 
			 Cannabis(5) 553 403 329 
			 
			 Total-All Drug dealing offences 1,107 767 638 
			 (1) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These are included in the totals. (3) Includes offences covering "Possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply" and "Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug". (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5) In 2004 cannabis was reclassified from a Class B to a Class C drug. In 2009 cannabis was reclassified to a Class B drug. Cannabis data are shown separately in this table and are not also included in the relevant years Class B or Class C data.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice

Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of those enrolled on Intensive Alternatives to Custody schemes left a scheme as a result of breaching its conditions in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of such persons received custodial sentences as a consequence;
	(2)  what proportion of those enrolled on Intensive Alternative to Custody schemes in the latest period for which figures are available had previously served custodial sentences;
	(3)  what actions constitute a breach of the conditions of the Intensive Alternative to Custody Scheme.

Crispin Blunt: At the end of August 2010, a total of 1501 IAC orders had been imposed since the IAC pilots began in 2008. Of these 1501 orders, 29.7% (446) have been terminated and the offender re-sentenced. Of those re-sentenced the vast majority, 72% (319), received immediate custodial sentences, with 8% (37) receiving suspended sentences, The remainder have been given or are awaiting another disposal.
	Figures for the number of breaches which result in termination of an IAC order and the re-sentencing of an offender are not collected separately. Therefore the figures above also include offenders who have had their order terminated because they have been sentenced for an additional offence committed prior to or following the start of their IAC order. Some of these offenders will therefore have had their IAC orders terminated even though they had complied with its conditions.
	Information is not collected centrally on previous court disposals for offenders sentenced to an IAC.
	IAC orders are imposed using existing legislation and are subject to the same National Standards as all other community orders. If an offender fails to comply twice without providing acceptable evidence they will be breached within 10 days and returned to court where their IAC order may be revoked and a custodial sentence imposed. Alternatively the court may make the IAC order more onerous to mark the seriousness of the breach.

Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to extend to all criminal offences his right to appeal against unduly lenient sentences.

Crispin Blunt: The powers for the Attorney-General (and the Solicitor-General) to refer a Crown court sentence to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue leniency are working well. It has been the practice of successive governments to deal with any proposals to add individual either way offences to the scheme on their own merits. The coalition Government currently have no plans to apply the scheme to all offences.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to implement the Government's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities set out in  (a) Article 12 on equal recognition before the law,  (b) Article 13 on access to justice,  (c) Article 14 on liberty and security of the person,  (d) Article 21 on freedom of expression and opinion and access to information and  (e) Article 22 on respect for privacy.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice is committed to the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to improving outcomes for disabled people. The UK Government will report to the UN Committee in July 2011 setting out how implementation has been achieved across Government.
	A number of measures exist or are being taken forward by MoJ which support various Convention Articles, for example:
	The aims and principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which came into force in October 2007, are in line with those of the UN Convention and the Act's measures are supportive of many of the Convention's requirements;
	The support provided to disabled people who go to court, e.g. through provision of BSL interpreters, hearing loop systems, Braille signage, visits to court to enable a person to familiarise themselves prior to court hearings, provision of information in alternative formats upon request; special measures to assist certain vulnerable witnesses give evidence in criminal proceedings;
	The Hate Crime Strategy (jointly with Home Office) aimed at reducing hate crime, including disability hate crime, supporting victims and bringing offenders to justice;
	The framework for the management of prisoners with disabilities which aims to ensure that all prisoners, with reasonable adjustment, have access to all aspects of prison life.

Animal Welfare

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to ensure that personnel working with animals in establishments designated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are trained and competent following the transposition into domestic law of the EU Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The Council of European Union adopted a revised text as its first reading position in June 2010. The European Parliament approved the Council's first reading position on 8 September 2010. This brought negotiation of the new European Union directive to an end. The final text will be published in the  Official Journal of the European Union shortly and will enter into force 20 days later. Member states will have two years to transpose its provisions into national legislation which must be implemented from 1 January 2013.
	I am not yet in a position to comment on the arrangements for the training and competence of personnel working with animals in establishments designated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 following the transposition of the EU directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes into domestic law. A detailed assessment of the provisions of the new directive is under way and will in due course be included in a public consultation on options for transposition.

Animal Welfare

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effects on the level of protection given to pre-hatch birds used in experimental procedures the transposition into domestic law of the EU Directive on the protection of animals used in scientific procedures will have.

Lynne Featherstone: The Council of European Union adopted a revised text as its first reading position in June 2010. The European Parliament approved the Council's first reading position on 8 September 2010. This brought negotiation of the new European Union directive to an end. The final text will be published in the  Official Journal of the European Union shortly and will enter into force 20 days later. Member states will have two years to transpose its provisions into national legislation which must be implemented from 1 January 2013.
	I am not yet in a position to comment whether there will be any changes to the protection given to pre-hatch birds used in experimental procedures resulting from the transposition of the EU directive on the protection of animals used in scientific procedures into United Kingdom legislation. A detailed assessment of the provisions of the new directive is under way and will in due course be included in a public consultation on options for transposition.

Animal Welfare

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she intends to transpose into domestic law the derogation within the EU Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes allowing the use of procedures involving severe pain, suffering or distress to animals that is likely to be long-lasting and cannot be ameliorated.

Lynne Featherstone: The Council of European Union adopted a revised text as its first reading position in June 2010. The European Parliament approved the Council's first reading position on 8 September 2010. This brought negotiation of the new European Union directive to an end. The final text will be published in the  Official Journal of the European Union shortly and will enter into force 20 days later. Member states will have two years to transpose its provisions into national legislation which must be implemented from 1 January 2013.
	I am not yet in a position to comment on the transposition into domestic law of the derogation within the EU directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes allowing the use of procedures involving severe pain, suffering or distress to animals that is likely to be long-lasting and cannot be ameliorated. A detailed assessment of the provisions of the new directive is under way and will in due course be included in a public consultation on options for transposition.

Animal Welfare

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which areas she plans to opt to maintain the provisions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for safeguarding animal welfare where they are more restrictive than those that will be required within the EU Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

Lynne Featherstone: The Council of European Union adopted a revised text as its first reading position in June 2010. The European Parliament approved the Council's first reading position on 8 September 2010. This brought negotiation of the new European Union directive to an end. The final text will be published in the  Official Journal of the European Union shortly and will enter into force 20 days later. Member states will have two years to transpose its provisions into national legislation which must be implemented from 1 January 2013.
	I am not yet in a position to comment on plans to maintain the provisions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for safeguarding animal welfare where they are stricter than those that will be required within the EU directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. A detailed assessment of the provisions of the new directive is under way and will in due course be included in a public consultation on options for transposition.

Animal Welfare

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the implications of the implementation on the European Directive on the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific Procedures for the  (a) role and  (b) future funding of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate.

Lynne Featherstone: The Council of European Union adopted a revised text as its first reading position in June 2010. The European Parliament approved the Council's first reading position on 8 September 2010. This brought negotiation of the new European Union directive to an end. The final text will be published in the  Official Journal of the European Union shortly and will enter into force 20 days later. Member states will have two years to transpose its provisions into national legislation which must be implemented from 1 January 2013.
	I am not yet in a position to comment on the implications of the new directive for the future role and funding of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate. A detailed assessment of the provisions of the new directive is under way and will in due course be included in a public consultation on options for transposition.

Borders: Personal Records

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the change in security clearance requirements for personnel working on the e-borders programme resulted in an extension to the time taken to deliver the programme.

Damian Green: The change in security clearance requirements for personnel from the Service Provider working on the e-Borders Programme did not result in a time extension for the programme.

Citizenship

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people  (a) applied for and  (b) were granted UK citizenship in (i) each year since 1997 and (ii) each of the last eight quarters for which figures are available; and how many people of each nationality were granted citizenship in (A) 1997 and (B) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Damian Green: Data covering applications for and grants of British citizenship in the United Kingdom for the years 1997 to 2009 were published in supplementary table A of the Home Office statistical bulletin 'British Citizenship Statistics United Kingdom, 2009' while figures for the eight quarters ending quarter 2 2010 were published in table 4.7 of the 'Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom April-June 2010'.
	Data for quarter 3 2010 is scheduled for publication on 25 November 2010.
	Grants of British citizenship for 1997 and 2009 by the applicants' previous nationality were published in supplementary table C of 'British Citizenship Statistics United Kingdom, 2009'.
	Both of these Home Office statistical publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Entry Clearances: Employment

Phil Woolas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on implementation of the proposal for a Directive on the conditions of entry and residence of third country nationals for the purpose of seasonal employment (COM (2010) 379; Council Doc. 12208/10); and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 25 October 2010
	 The United Kingdom is not opting into this proposal.

Equalities Act 2010

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to assess the effect on small businesses of the provisions of the Equalities Act 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: The Equality Act 2010 updates and streamlines the equality legislation from the last four decades. It replaces nine different pieces of legislation with a modern and accessible framework, simplifying the law, making it more consistent and therefore reducing the burden on business.
	The impact assessment for the Equality Act 2010 examines the effect on business of the various provisions contained in the Act. The effect on small and medium enterprises is identified but there has been no separate assessment for small businesses. The impact assessment which was published in April 2010 and is available in the House Library and from the Government Equalities Office website.

Equalities Act 2010

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the cost to small businesses of implementation of the provisions of the Equalities Act 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: The Equality Act 2010 updates and streamlines the equality legislation from the last four decades. It replaces nine different pieces of legislation with a modern and accessible framework, simplifying the law, making it more consistent and therefore reducing the burden on business.
	The impact assessment for the Equality Act 2010 estimates the cost to business of the various provisions contained in the Act. Costs to small and medium enterprises are identified but there has been no separate assessment for small businesses. The impact assessment was published in April 2010 and is available in the House Library and from the Government Equalities Office website.

Equalities Act 2010

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will estimate the number of cases expected to be brought against employers arising from the provisions of the Equalities Act 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 19 October 2010,  Official Report, column 636W. A copy of the impact assessment for the Equality Act 2010 is available in the Library or the Government Equalities Office website at:
	http://www.equalities.gov.uk/pdf/Equality%20Act%20Impact.pdf
	The Equality Act 2010 updates and streamlines the equality legislation that has built up over the last four decades. It replaces nine different pieces of legislation with a modern and accessible framework, simplifying the law, making it easier for people to understand their rights and responsibilities and comply.

Immigration

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications from UK residents returning to the UK from  (a) Canada,  (b) Australia and  (c) New Zealand in the last year for which information is available were (i) approved and (ii) rejected.

Damian Green: The information requested by my hon. Friend with regard to the number of returning resident applications approved and rejected for the period July 2009 to June 2010 for Canada, Australia and New Zealand is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  July 2009 to June 2010 stats on returning resident from Australia, Canada and New Zealand 
			  Country  Issued  Refused 
			 Australia 11 6 
			 Canada 0 9 
			 New Zealand 0 0 
			  Note: This data is based on Management Information and is therefore provisional and subject to change. 
		
	
	A returning resident is a resident who has left the UK for no longer than two years and who wishes to return to live in the UK permanently.

National Border Targeting Centre

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether changing the location of the National Border Targeting Centre resulted in an extension in the time taken to deliver the e-borders programme; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The change in location of the National Border Targeting Centre did not affect the time scale for delivering the e-Borders programme.

Elections

Ann McKechin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will bring forward legislative proposals to put the Interim Electoral Management Board for Scotland on a statutory basis in respect of elections which remain the responsibility of the UK Government.

Mark Harper: The Scottish Government introduced the Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 7 October. The Bill includes provisions to allow for the Electoral Management Board to be established in statute as an independent body, representing Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers. Its convenor will have a statutory power of direction over Returning Officers who are in charge of Scottish Local Government elections.
	The Government intend to devolve responsibility for the administration of the Scottish Parliament elections to the Scottish Government in accordance with the recommendations of the Caiman Commission. It will be then for the Scottish Government to decide whether they wish to put the Interim Electoral Management Board on a statutory basis for that election.
	For European Parliamentary elections a Regional Returning Officer (RRO) is appointed. The RRO has a power of direction over the local Returning Officer in his or her region. There are no plans at this stage to bring forward legislation to put the Interim Management Board for Scotland on a statutory basis in respect of elections which are the responsibility of the UK Government. However, we will keep the position under review.

Elections: Fraud

Paul Uppal: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps the Government are taking to reduce the level of electoral fraud by personation.

Mark Harper: The available evidence suggests that current instances of personation are relatively low. Data is not as yet available for the 2010 UK General Election, though the report by the Electoral Commission and the Association of Chief Police Officers, Analysis of allegations of electoral malpractice at the June 2009 elections, found that there were 13 cases of personation at the June 2009 elections. These figures should be put in the context that more than 22 million votes were cast in the June 2009 elections across the United Kingdom.
	The Government are committed to tackling electoral fraud and has announced that it will legislate to bring Individual Electoral Registration into force in 2014, ahead of the next general election. Individual Electoral Registration will require each voter to register individually and to provide three personal identifiers; signature, date of birth and National Insurance Number, the last two of which will be cross checked with the Department for Work and Pensions before anyone is added to the electoral register. This will make the electoral register more accurate and more secure, and thus should strengthen the integrity of the voting process at elections.
	The Electoral Commission's report on the administration of the May 2010 General Election published in July explained that the Commission had worked with the Association of Chief Police Officers to ensure that cases of alleged electoral malpractice reported to the police have been consistently and comprehensively recorded across the UK since the beginning of 2010. The Electoral Commission will publish verified data and analysis on the extent and nature of cases of electoral malpractice at the General Election in January 2011.
	We will consider the Electoral Commission's report carefully when it is published together with what action may be necessary to address any issues that may highlighted by the report.

Departmental Visits Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on overseas visits for senior officials in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. member to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website where this information is already available for UK based senior officials:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/publications-and-documents/publications1/annual-reports/senior-staff-expenses/
	Information for overseas based senior officials is not held in this format and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code.

Developing Countries: Fossil fuels

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has for discussions on fossil fuel subsidy reform with other governments; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: The issue of fossil fuel subsidy reform was discussed by The Group of Twenty (G20) Finance Ministers on 22 October. The issue will also be discussed at the G20 summit in Seoul in November, where the G20 will review the progress made to implement the national commitments to reduce fossil fuel subsidies.

Fossil Fuels: India

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of India on fossil fuel subsidy reform.

Henry Bellingham: The issue of fossil fuel subsidy reform was discussed with the Government of India during the Group of Twenty 20 summit in Toronto in June.

Ilois: Resettlement

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the US administration on resettlement of the outer Chagos islands; when such representations were last received  (a) in public and  (b) in private; what the rank was of the official who made such representations; and on what occasion he most recently discussed the issue with his US counterpart.

Henry Bellingham: The use of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) including Diego Garcia is regulated by a series of bilateral agreements between the UK and US. The 1966 Exchange of Notes provides that the whole of the territory shall be available for defence purposes.
	The US Administration has regularly made clear their concerns about the possible restoration of a settled civilian population in the territory. Letters dated November 2004 and January 2006 from the State Department confirming this position have been made available to the UK courts.
	US concerns over the implications of resettlement of the outer islands were most recently confirmed in October during the annual UK/US Political-Military talks on BIOT when US officials set out the US Government's position.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have not discussed the issue directly with our US counterparts.

Departmental Contracts

Ian Austin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the monetary value is of contracts his Department has awarded to each  (a) management consultancy and  (b) IT company since 7 May 2010.

Francis Maude: It is not possible to report on lifetime contract values awarded during this period without incurring disproportionate costs.
	However, the accounting system shows the following in-year values for contracts awarded between 7 May and 18 October of the corresponding financial year:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Value awarded for : 
			   FY2010-11  FY2009-10 
			 Consultancy 1,255,146 5,089,068 
			 IT 2,217,564 12,078,974 
		
	
	A breakdown of this data by supplier will be placed in the Library of the House.

Unduly Lenient Sentencing

Bob Blackman: To ask the Attorney-General what representations he has received on his recent report on unduly lenient sentences; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: I refer the my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the oral questions from the hon. Members for Dartford (Gareth Johnson) and High Peak (Andrew Bingham) today.

Theft: Prosecutions

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of factors affecting the success of prosecutions for shop theft.

Edward Garnier: While no separate assessment has been made of the factors affecting the success of prosecutions for shop theft, I expect all prosecutions to be conducted in accordance with the requirements set out in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Code for Crown Prosecutors and the commitments outlined in the CPS Core Quality Standards.
	The CPS's central records include a count of defendants proceeded against for offences of theft and handling, but do not separately identify cases of theft from shops. The figures for 200910 indicate strong performance in respect of theft and handling cases, with a success rate of approximately 93%.

Broadband

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which locations considered for superfast broadband pilots were not proceeded with; and for what reason in each case.

Edward Vaizey: 11 locations were proposed, one from each devolved Administration and regional development agencies. Those selected were deemed to offer the required mix of learning opportunities from the selection criteria.

Broadband

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of each pilot scheme for superfast broadband.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK are discussing the scope and scale of the pilots with the relevant local bodies and will assess the appropriate level of funding to provide for each dependent on the outcome of those discussions. A notional allocation of £5 million to £10 million has been made, subject to a process of due diligence.

Business: Government Assistance

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans the Government has to encourage people to start up new businesses in their local areas.

Mark Prisk: The coalition Government are committed to making the coming decade the most entrepreneurial and dynamic in Britain's history.
	The Department has brought together a forum of entrepreneurs, educators and sector representatives to build a consensus on how best learning institutions might further improve and promote enterprise education. This work is designed to ensure the opportunities to develop enterprise and entrepreneurial skills, including those needed to encourage people to start-up new businesses, are supported and promoted throughout education.
	The Government have also announced a New Enterprise Allowance which will support start-ups among the unemployed. It will give an unemployed person entering self-employment the support they need to start a successful business.
	Government have also announced a dedicated area on the businesslink.gov website for start ups. This will include a package of online training as well as tools and templates to help people think through what they need to do when starting up

Business: Loans

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with banks on lending to small and medium-sized businesses.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 25 October 2010
	I have had several discussions with banks recently regarding bank lending to small and medium-sized (SMEs) businesses.
	As referred to in the Business Finance Green Paper, the major UK banks and the British Bankers' Association (BBA) Taskforce have explored several issues affecting SMEs. I have met with the BBA Taskforce and as you may know the taskforce has now published its report 'Supporting UK Businesses' which sets out 17 actions designed to improve lending to small and medium-sized businesses by taskforce banks.
	I recently chaired the first meeting of the Small Business Economic Forum which forms an important platform for bringing small business representatives and banks together on a regular basis to discuss bank lending alongside other business finance and economic issues facing small and medium-sized businesses.

Business: Loans

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that large businesses do not relocate outside the UK as a result of inadequate access to bank finance.

Edward Davey: Business' decisions to remain in the UK are complex. The Government are committed to promoting growth by tackling the deficit, rebalancing the economy and creating the right conditions to support a private sector-led recovery.
	Over the summer, the Government issued the Green Paper, "Financing a Private Sector Recovery". This consulted on what is needed to ensure stable financial conditions for business; improvements to the bank lending environment, and; to ensure businesses can access a range of sources of finance. Government will shortly be setting out the action that is being taken in response to this consultation, in ensuring that UK businesses have appropriate and adequate access to finance.

Business: Loans

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage banks to lend to small businesses.

Mark Prisk: The coalition Government have articulated their ambition to ensure the flow of credit to viable SMEs. Our consultation on business finance issues, "Financing a private sector recovery" closed on the 20 September, and received many responses from a wide range of firms, business representative bodies, individuals and investors. We are currently considering the Government's response which will be given shortly.
	As referred to in the Business Finance Green Paper, the major UK banks and the British Bankers' Association (BBA) taskforce have explored several issues affecting SMEs. I have met with the BBA taskforce and as the hon. Member may know the taskforce has now published its report "Supporting UK Businesses" which sets out 17 actions designed to improve lending to small businesses by taskforce banks. I will follow keenly to ensure that banks deliver on the recommendations outlined in the report.
	I recently chaired the first meeting of the Small Business Economic Forum which forms an important platform for bringing small business representatives and banks together on a regular basis to discuss bank lending alongside other business finance and economic issues facing small businesses.

Community Interest Companies: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many community interest companies are registered in  (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford,  (b) the London Borough of Bexley and  (c) London.

Edward Davey: The number of community interest companies registered in  (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford, and  (b) the London Borough of Bexley and  (c) London are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford 2 
			 The London Borough of Bexley 11 
			 London 888 
		
	
	This statistical information is estimated using post code data provided in the current registered office addresses of community interest companies on the public register of companies.

Teesside Cast Products: Government Assistance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the distribution of the remainder of the grant allocated by his Department to Corus TCP in December 2009.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 25 October 2010
	The previous Government announced the provision of £5 million of training support to Tata Steel (then Corus) in June 2009. £2.5 million of that funding was delivered by the Regional Development Agencies (Yorkshire Forward and One North East) in December 2009. A further £2.5 million was also earmarked to be provided to the company in those regions through Train to Gain. The offer of assistance was intended to contribute to training the workforce, retain capacity in the UK and to help the company through the downturn and to recover more strongly as economic conditions improved.
	Almost 100 learners at Corus TCP undertook training in Business Improvement Techniques, using Train to Gain funding, with learning delivered by Gateshead College in 09/10. The Skills Funding Agency continues to work constructively with Tata Steel across a number of its sites in different regions to identify training opportunities that are eligible within the current Train to Gain rules and within future funding arrangements, and which are consistent with state aid requirements.

PAYE: Gateshead

Ian Mearns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many residents of Gateshead borough have been identified as having  (a) underpaid and  (b) overpaid PAYE contributions during the recent automated reconciliation of such payments.

David Gauke: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost, as HMRC do not hold this data in relation to MPs' constituencies.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the deferred introduction of the Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) Levy on the readiness of CCS demonstration projects to seek co-funding from the EU's NER300 mechanism.

Gregory Barker: The European Commission is expected to launch their NER process by the end of October and our aim is to publish guidance for UK projects in relation to the NER once the NER call is launched and we have more detailed information regarding that process.
	In parallel we are developing the scope and selection process of the UK CCS programme and will set out proposals on how further demonstration projects will be taken forward by the end of the year.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the readiness of Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration projects to seek co-funding from the EU's NER300 mechanism; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The market sounding process carried out by the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage over the summer suggests that there are a number of UK projects interested in seeking funding from the EU NER 300 but it is not possible to say how many will meet the requirements of that process until more details are available from the European Commission.
	The Commission is expected to launch their NER process later this month and our aim is to publish guidance for UK projects in relation to the NER once the NER call is launched and we have more detailed information regarding that process.

Energy: Private Rented Housing

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department plans to take to ensure take-up of the Green Deal in the private rented sector by  (a) landlords and  (b) tenants.

Gregory Barker: The Energy Security and Green Economy Bill will be introduced at the end of the year and will confirm our precise approach to improve the energy efficiency of the Private Rented Sector under the Green Deal.
	The Green Deal will offer Private Rented Sector landlords a real opportunity to invest in their property at no up-front cost. It will remove the spilt incentive that has previously hampered progress in the sector and allow tenants to repay the cost of energy efficiency measures through their energy bill savings.

Feed-in Tariffs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will ensure that the support given to people who have already installed renewable electricity projects under the Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) scheme will be protected under any future review of the FIT scheme.

Gregory Barker: It is the Government's intention that no changes will be made to tariffs for those already receiving Feed-in tariffs. Any change to tariffs resulting from a review of the FITs scheme will be directed solely on new entrants joining the scheme.

Heat Pumps

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take into account in his assessment of the renewable status of heat pumps the level of carbon dioxide emissions in respect of  (a) heat pump hardware and  (b) the manufacture and emission of fluorocarbon refrigeration gases; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The renewable status of heat pumps is set out in Directive 2009/28/EC, dated 23 April 2009. The criteria for determining the renewable energy contribution from a heat pump is described in Annex VII of that Directive. This indicates that the Commission will establish, by 1 January 2013, guidelines on how member states are to estimate the renewable energy contribution. The Directive does not require the energy, and associated CO2 emissions, used in the manufacture of heat pumps and fluorocarbon gases to be taken into account when assessing the renewable energy contribution.
	Directive 2005/32/EC, the framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products, requires the Commission to consider the life cycle and environmental aspects of energy using products. The Commission have yet to agree the ecodesign criterion for heating technologies, including heat pumps, though consultation documents have not included these wider energy aspects. The magnitude of manufacturing energy use is small compared with the 'in-use' energy consumption.

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost to his Department was of the storage of  (a) spent nuclear fuel and  (b) intermediate nuclear waste at reactor sites in the UK in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and whether his Department is taking steps to reduce such costs.

Charles Hendry: Due to the complexity of the sites, storage cost of spent fuel and intermediate level waste cannot be easily apportioned, each stream shares common resources, management arrangements and facilities. The total expenditure on Magnox reactor sites (for the year ended 31 March 2009) was £590 million. This included the operational cost for the two generating sites, Wylfa and Oldbury, of £164 million and power generating revenue of £324 million. The cost to maintain safe compliant condition on non operational sites is approximately £159 million.
	DECC, through NDA, continually drive cost efficiency into the decommissioning and waste management programme through stringent oversight and developing appropriate commercial arrangements. Cost reduction is ultimately driven through by reducing hazards at the sites by retrieving and packaging waste so that it can be stored passively and safely. Early remediation, within funding constraints, is the key to reducing ongoing liability. DECC are currently considering, as part of the current spending review, a programme that will not only meet funding constraints and accelerate hazard remediation, but also reduce the long term Nuclear Liability Estimate (NLE) at Magnox Sites by between £l billion and £1.2 billion.

Academies

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what evidence he took into account in his assessment that academy schools would raise the standards of other schools in the same area; and whether he plans to review that assessment when the proposed academy schools have been established.

Nick Gibb: The Fifth Annual Independent Academies Evaluation Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers found that there is evidence of academies increasing collaboration with neighbouring primary schools and secondary schools. It also found that neighbouring schools have increasingly realised the benefits they can derive from academies with some adopting policies introduced by academies-the report found that this had a positive impact on other local schools.
	More recently, the National Audit Office report on Academies did 'identify effective examples of partnership working with other schools, particularly 'feeder' primary schools'.
	All outstanding schools that convert will be expected to partner and provide support to weak schools to help improve standards. Currently, the former and existing city technology colleges are sponsoring over 20 academies or are supporting weaker schools. We will continue to monitor the progress and performance of academies and ensure that they remain accountable against the results and outcomes they are expected to deliver.

Departmental Sick Leave

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many days his Department has lost to staff sickness in each year since 1997; and what estimate he made of the cost to his Department of sickness absence in each such year.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education (DFE) was formed on 12 May 2010. The information covers its predecessors, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Education and Skills.
	Sickness absence data for DFE and DCSF covering the periods July 2007 to June 2010 is available on the Department's website and for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2007 on the Cabinet Office's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/a00448/sickness-absence
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/sickness/sickness.aspx
	No data is available for the period prior to 1 April 2003 as it wasn't routinely collected centrally or by departments.
	Due to the wide range of posts and salary points in the Department, the actual costs of absences could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Estimate costs of absence for the Civil Service between 2003 and 2007 are set out in the reports on the Cabinet Office website.

Departmental Sick Leave

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many officials in his Department have had  (a) fewer than five days,  (b) five to 10 days,  (c) 10 to 15 days,  (d) 15 to 20 days,  (e) 20 to 25 days,  (f) 25 to 50 days,  (g) 50 to 75 days,  (h) 75 to 100 days,  (i) 100 to 150 days,  (j) 150 to 200 days,  (k) more than 200 days,  (l) more than three months,  (m) more than six months and  (n) one year on paid sick leave (i) consecutively and (ii) in total in each year since 1997.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education (DFE) was formed on 12 May 2010. The information covers its predecessors, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Education and Skills.
	Sickness absence data for DFE and DCSF covering the periods July 2007 to June 2010 is available on the Department's website and for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2007 on the Cabinet Office's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/a00448/sickness-absence
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/sickness/sickness.aspx
	The latest published information shows the average number of working days lost (AWDL) for staff for the rolling period 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010 at 6.6 days. The tables on the DFE website break the figures down according to grade, age, gender and geographical location.
	No data is available for the period prior to 1 April 2003 as it was not routinely collected centrally or by departments.
	The data, broken down as requested, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Schools: Doncaster

Rosie Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to  (a) rebuild and  (b) refurbish secondary schools in Doncaster.

Nick Gibb: As the right hon. Member may be aware, on 5 July the Secretary of State announced a review of all areas of DFE capital spending. Its purpose is to ensure that future capital investment represents good value for money and strongly supports the Government's ambitions to reduce the deficit, raise standards and tackle disadvantage. The independent capital review team is working with building companies on a pilot proposal to rebuild Campsmount Technology College in Doncaster. There is a good prospect that the new school could be built ahead of the original schedule and with significant cost savings. The funding of academies in Doncaster will be considered on a case by case basis. However plans for all other schools in Doncaster in line for BSF funding for refurbishment and rebuilds have been stopped at present while we await the outcome of the capital review which will report at the end of this calendar year.

Advisory Committees

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his most recent assessment is of the performance of the Committee on Medical Effects of Air Pollutants;
	(2)  what his most recent assessment is of the performance of the Committee on Carcogenicity of Chemicals in Food Consumer Products and the Environment;
	(3)  what his most recent assessment is of the performance of the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment.

Anne Milton: No formal assessments have been made of these committees themselves. The Chairmen and Health Protection Agency secretariats review members contributions on an annual basis. The Department is satisfied with the advice they have provided over many years.
	As part of the implementation of the changes to the Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies (ANDPBs), we will be implementing a periodic review process (three yearly), of all our significant advisory committees and ANDPBs which will incorporate an assessment of performance and effectiveness. Wherever possible this will be conducted by an independent expert. Members attendance and performance are assessed by committee chairs and secretariat when reappointments are considered.
	Scientific Advisory Committees must follow the code of practice for Scientific Advisory Committees. This can be viewed at:
	www.bis.gov.uk/assets/BISPartners/GoScience/Docs/C/cop-scientific-advisory-committees.pdf

NHS: Sick Leave

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many days were lost through sickness absence in the NHS in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested. The data collected is the sickness absence rate, i.e. the percentage of available working time lost to sickness absence.
	The sickness absence rate in the national health service was 4.4%, in the 12 months April 2008 to March 2009 and 4.4% in the 12 months April 2009 to March 2010.